Cape Town – Author and director Rachel Kolisi has reflected on the many “lasts” she is experiencing with her daughter, Liphelo Madlingozi, as the teenager prepares to complete her final year of school.
Rachel, the former wife of Springboks captain Siya Kolisi, shared a carousel of photographs with Liphelo on Instagram, highlighting moments from what is her matric year.
“A lot of lasts this year 😭♥️,” Rachel captioned the post.
Liphelo is Siya’s half-sister. Siya and Rachel legally adopted her and her brother, Liyema, in 2014 after the siblings had spent time in foster care and orphanages following the deaths of their parents.
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Siya previously spoke about reconnecting with his younger siblings after years apart. Recalling the first time he saw Liphelo in foster care in Zwide, Gqeberha, he said: “My little sister didn’t know me. She had been crawling when I last saw her.”
He said he initially planned to have the children stay with him during the December holidays but later decided he could not send them back.
“But afterwards I said I can’t send them back,” Siya said.
The adoption process subsequently took about 18 months.
In 2024, Rachel reflected on reaching a decade since Liphelo and Liyema joined the family permanently.
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“10 years, of the greatest gift God could have ever given me,” she wrote.
She recalled that she was 24 when the siblings first came to Cape Town, while her son Nicholas was just three months old. Liphelo was seven and Liyema was 12 at the time.
Rachel and Siya also have two children together, Nicholas and Keziah.
As Liphelo approaches the end of her school journey, Rachel’s latest post captures another milestone for the family after more than a decade of raising the siblings together.
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Picture: Instagram / rachelkolisi
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
